[5] At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 4,746 in 875 households, when it was capital of the former Asaluyeh District of Kangan County.

[4] On the shore of the Persian Gulf some 270 km SE of the provincial capital of Bushehr, it is best known as the site for the land based facilities of the huge PSEEZ (Pars Special Energy Economic Zone) project.

[8] The PSEEZ (Pars Special Energy/Economic Zone) as it is known has been allocated 100 square kilometres of land at Asaluyeh for the various complexes and facilities.

The site is a collection of different plants and refineries (known as "phases") and is administered by the PSEEZ agency onsite Archived 27 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine.

A total of 27 phases are envisaged (12 gas, 15 petrochemical), plus a mix of light and heavy industry, and associated support facilities such as factories and warehouses.

In 2010, a large power plant with 1,000 megawatts output was inaugurated in Asalouyeh, aiming to supply electricity to the refineries of South Pars gas field phases 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, and 18.

Foreign entities have invested some $36 billion in the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) during the past 10 years (2009).

Asalouyeh was a sleepy coastal hamlet, on a narrow strip of land between the Persian Gulf and the Zagros Mountains.

This port will have at least 10 berths that can simultaneously accommodate 10 ships and especially for exporting of sulphur, containers loading / unloading as heavy cargo.

[needs update] Each of the phases of the South Pars project is estimated to have an average capital spend of around US$1.5bn, and most will be led by foreign oil firms working in partnership with local companies.

[13] The government of President Ahmadinejad, who came to power in 2005, has favoured local firms over foreign companies in the energy and other sectors.

[13] In 2010, Iran awarded $21 billion of contracts to local companies to develop six stages (phases 13, 14, 19, 22, 23 and 24) of the South Pars gas field.

The group also includes Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Co., Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran, and National Iranian Drilling Co.[14] Managing the projects by Iranian companies does not rule out the participation of foreign firms in South Pars projects.

[citation needed] Any visitor to Asaluyeh will immediately notice the series of gas and petrochemical complexes running along the coast, one of the largest collection of such facilities in the world.

The area also hosts the world's largest aromatic production plant, Noori Petrochemical Complex, with an annual capacity of 4.2 million tons.

It covers an area of 1,300 square kilometres (500 sq mi) and is located 3 km below the seabed at a water depth of 65 m. The Iranian side accounts for 10% of the world's and 60% of Iran's total gas reserves.

Due to the availability of petrochemicals and their by-products, 10 square kilometres at PSEEZ have been allocated for related industries, such as:[27] Construction of two water desalination plants each with a capacity of 10,000 cubic per day started in March 2005.

The government of President Ahmadinejad, who came to power in 2005, has favoured local firms over foreign companies in the energy and other sectors.

These include: However, the US company Halliburton and American Allied International Corporation, have contracts for and business dealing with South Pars via subsidiaries.